The Peterborough-based art and design student faces seven rounds to be crowned Miss Cambridgeshire at Anstey Hall, Cambridge, on Sunday February 15, including evening dress, charity and general knowledge rounds.

Ingrid said: “I’m very excited but nervous as well and I get butterflies just thinking about the competition.

“I did a catwalk for a shop in Peterborough and a girl who had done beauty pageants before said she thought I’d be really good at it.

“So I thought of entering Miss Peterborough 2015, but accidentally entered for Miss England instead and after I was interviewed, the judges put me into the finals of Miss Cambridgeshire 2015.”

Ingrid was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and grew up in the country’s Minas Gerais state before moving to England with her family as a six-year-old.

After about five years living in London, Ingrid’s family moved to Spalding and lived in Woolram Wygate for six years.

Ingrid said: “I didn’t speak the language when I came here and it was a big shock to move from a big city like London to Spalding which was very, very quiet.

“I used to be very shy, but I started to come out of my shell when I went to what was Gleed Girls Technology College where I met some really lovely girls who helped me become more outgoing and bubbly.

“I then got into modelling and photography which made more confident and now I love trying new things like this beauty contest.”

Ingrid hopes to study for a degree in footwear design and set up her own business in orthopaedic footwear to help children in Brazil and the UK.

“I’m currently doing a foundation course in art and design but in the future, I want to become a businesswoman,” Ingrid said.

“I love high-heel shoes but I can’t wear them all the time because they hurt my feet, so I want to go into the orthopaedic side of footwear fashion.

“But before that, I have my first beauty pageant which I’m looking forward to because of the dressing up and taking on different characters.